The job of Immigration Commissioner Norman Garcera Tansingco may be in limbo following the revelation by a former bureau employee that Tansingco has a pending case before the Office of the Ombudsman.

Based on a document obtained by DAILY TRIBUNE, Tansingco is among the respondents in a human smuggling complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman by former Bureau of Immigration Intelligence Division employee Richard de Leon Cabochan Jr. on 21 April 2015.

"One of the respondents in the complaint is Atty. Norman Garcera Tansingco. Based on my records, the last pleading I filed in the case was a supplemental affidavit dated 24 June 2015. In addition, I also filed two other cases with your honorable office docketed as OMB CASE NO. IC-OC-14-1351° and OMB CASE NO. IC-0C-14-4768," Cabochan told DAILY TRIBUNE when sought for comment.

Cabochan was prompted to question Tansingco's appointment through a letter addressed to Ombudsman Samuel Martires dated 19 September 2022, after a clearance was released by Maria Agnes L. Forteza, Graft Investigation Officer I, dated 1 September 2022.

An Ombudsman clearance is a requirement for a Presidential appointee.

Cabochan, in his letter, said Tansingco is not fit to be installed as BI commissioner because of his pending case before the Ombudsman.

"To my displeasure, I came to know that Atty. Tansingco, a respondent in the abovementioned case, was the newly appointed commissioner of the BI. The said event had me surprised because it is my understanding that to be a confirmed appointee of a head of a government agency, one must possess a clean record or background as evidenced by various clearances issued by concerned government offices of the Republic of the Philippines," Cabochan's letter to Martirez read.

Cabochan said Tansingco was able to fool Malacañang's steering committee — the Presidential Management Staff — by saying that he was not involved in any criminal or administrative cases.

"An investigation of the matter showed that Atty. Tansingco obtained a 'clearance' stating that he had no pending criminal or administrative cases with your honorable office. To reiterate, the same was issued last 1 September 2022," Cabochan said.

"I was surprised about this development, considering that it is to my knowledge that the complaint for the alleged human smuggling that I had filed is still being heard by your honorable office and has yet to be resolved, considering that I have yet to receive any document of the results of the proceedings conducted," Cabochan letter to Martirez read.

"Despite such fact, it appears from the abovementioned document that the case I had filed was already resolved without me, the complainant, being duly informed of the same," he added.

Not notified

He further asked Martirez why the Ombudsman did not notify him that Tansingco was given a clearance by the Ombudsman, a clear violation of his right to the due process of law.

"It is my understanding that this runs counter to the established procedures in the resolution of filed complaints in your honorable office wherein the parties should be duly informed of the results of the proceedings. I further understand that this right to be informed of the results of the proceedings is part of the due process of law as it would allow the parties to seek relief from the decision by filing the appropriate action in case they disagree with the outcome of the proceedings," the letter said.